Fish Crier
Fish Crier - meaning Summary
Celebrating Urban Market Life
The poem sketches a vivid portrait of a Jewish fish seller on Chicago’s Maxwell Street. It emphasizes his powerful, windlike voice and the exuberant pleasure he takes in selling herring, comparing his joy to Pavlowa’s dance. The speaker celebrates everyday labor and public life, finding dignity and almost sacred gratitude in the vendor’s simple trade and his lively interaction with customers from a pushcart.
Read Complete AnalysesI know a Jew fish crier down on Maxwell Street with a voice like a north wind blowing over corn stubble in January. He dangles herring before prospective customers evincing a joy identical with that of Pavlowa dancing. His face is that of a man terribly glad to be selling fish, terribly glad that God made fish, and customers to whom he may call his wares, from a pushcart.
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